In some parts of the country, kidnapping has become seemingly intractable such that kidnapping gangs are becoming so emboldened and daring. Kidnap-for-ransom is becoming a significant security challenge which needs to be tackled with concrete efforts and determination on the part of the government.
While the North is generally considered as the epicentre of abductions, kidnapping operations in the South-East tend to be slightly different. Kidnapping operations in the South-East are mostly commercially inclined with high-net-worth individuals, travellers, and members of the clergy being the targets in most instances.
As disclosed by SBM Intelligence in a new security report, not less than 257 people were kidnapped in Nigeria’s South-East between July 2024 and June 2025. The report further revealed that out of N1.005bn in ransom demanded by the kidnappers in the South-East over the period, the kidnappers got only N157.55m. In the case of the kidnapping of Reverend Father Gerald Ohaeri of Nsukka Diocese (Enugu) in December 2024, it was stated that N40m was reportedly paid. Whereas in the case of a Catholic engineer in the Nimo community, Njikoka local government area of Anambra State, who was kidnapped in November 2024, N50m was demanded by his abductors.
An ugly trend has gradually enveloped the kidnapping menace such that paying of ransom no longer guarantees the safe release of the abductees. The abductors have stepped up their game and now engage in wasting the lives of their abductees, even after receiving the requested ransom. The case in point is that of Mr. Charles Nwolisa, a high-profile business man, who was shot at Unubi in Anambra State in 2023 by his abductors after collecting the ransom they demanded. Mr. Nwolisa, who was left in a pool of blood, was subsequently rushed to a nearby hospital by some passers-by. Following this ugly experience, Mr. Nwolisa, like so many of his kind, has fled the country in 2024, vowing never to return to the country since his life is no longer safe and secure.
But, for how long will he and others like him, who are the targets of kidnappers, continue to desert their country due to the activities of kidnappers? We are therefore calling on the government, which principal obligation is to secure the lives and properties of the citizenry, to urgently tackle this ugly menace of kidnapping in the country.
Benjamin Nwolisa,
Franco-Nigerian Educational and Socio-Cultural Organisation, Lagos
